


ride on high

by discoveriesofbishmont (AlexiaBlackbriar13)



Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV)
Genre: Balthasar - Freeform, But mostly fluff, Competitive Matthew and Diana, Cross Country Jumping, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Rakasa, Set during 1x04, horse riding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 21:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/discoveriesofbishmont
Summary: Diana and Matthew take on a cross-country horse jumping course out in the forest behind Sept-Tours, atop Rakasa and Balthasar. It's only inevitable that things turn playfully competitive.





	ride on high

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mimozka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mimozka/gifts).



> happy holidays Mimozka! hope you enjoy your "secret" santa present xx and i hope everybody else reading enjoys this as well!

“I’m excited about riding again today,” Diana said, digging into the plate of French toast in front of her.

After spending the day riding with Matthew yesterday, the two of them had skipped out on dinner with Ysabeau, Matthew providing the excuse that they were both too tired after their excursion. They were going to have dinner together tonight instead, which gave Diana some time to prepare beforehand. She’d been woken up tangled in the sheets of Matthew’s bed by the vampire gently shaking her shoulder, telling her breakfast was on the table. Diana had quickly retreated into the bathroom to dress in leggings, a t-shirt, and a turtleneck. The vampire had been pouring her a glass of orange juice as well as a cup of fresh tea when she’d emerged, drawing a chair out from under the table to encourage her to sit down.

“I was thinking that we could head south, to the forest in the valley,” Matthew suggested. He already had a glass of wine in front of him. It didn’t matter to him that it was barely 9am. “There’s a cross-country course built there.”

“We’re going jumping!?” Diana asked, suddenly much more exhilarated. She loved all forms of horse jumping, but considering Matthew’s overprotective nature, she never thought he would allow her to.

“You proved to me yesterday that you’re a skilled and experienced rider. You handled Rakasa beautifully. I have a feeling that your magic played a part in instinctively keeping you safe and balanced. I think it would be interesting to see how your powers react when it comes to jumping.” The vampire paused then added sternly, “That still means you have to act carefully and sensibly. You still have to wear your vest and helmet, listen to me and do what I say.”

“But you are actually going to let me jump Rakasa?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Matthew released a long-suffering sigh. “Yes. I don’t think I could stop you at this point. Just… keep your feet in the stirrups and hands on the reins at all times. I saw you letting go yesterday when we were racing. I think I’ll have a heart attack if I see you jumping without holding on.” He drained his wine and stood. “I’m going to tack up the horses. Finish your breakfast and meet me down at the stables. I’ll have your equipment ready and waiting.”

“Thank you.”

Matthew dropped a kiss down on the top of her head as he walked past her. Diana flushed; her instincts back then about the relationship between them escalating were correct. She and Matthew had slipped past the limits of a platonic friendship, and were moving in a new romantic direction. The vampire trailed his fingers over her shoulder blades as he departed, leaving Diana feeling cold and the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Despite Matthew’s icy presence having left, it felt as if the warmth had been leached from the room.

Diana finished off her breakfast quickly, slipping on socks and sneakers and grabbing her jacket before heading out of the tower. She stopped off in the kitchens to grab apples for the horses on her way out to the stables. The dew across the grass lawns had frozen due to the lower temperatures and there was a sharp bite to the wind; while it might be warmer in the cover of the forest, riding would expose her to the elements a lot more, and Diana didn’t want to freeze.

Matthew was finishing up tightening the girth strap on Rakasa’s saddle when she arrived at the paddock. Balthasar, the huge black Percheron stallion, had already been tacked up; he was several hands taller than Rakasa but seemed to respect the smaller mare, standing next to her calmly. Both of the horses reared their heads as Diana approached once she’d pulled on her boots, vest, and helmet.

“Apple for you,” she fed one to Rakasa, who chomped it up happily, “And an apple for you.” Balthasar swallowed the apple down in two bites with a loud whinny. “Balthasar seems… exuberant today.”

“He has a lot of energy he needs to get rid of,” the vampire answered. He was checking the blanket on Rakasa’s back, keeping a wary eye on Balthasar as Diana stroked over his nose. “Balthasar acts like a prince when it pleases him, but in actuality, he has the personality of a devil. He was kicking at the stable door when I got here. He’s a flat racer with a lot of stamina, but he enjoys cross-country from time to time. Rakasa’s fully tacked if you want to take her around the paddock for a warm up. I just need to check Balthasar’s girth strap again. He has this awful habit of trying to throw me.”

After checking Rakasa’s hooves and tack over swiftly, Diana vaulted up onto the beautiful dapple gray mare’s back, wiggling in the saddle until she was comfortable and playing with her reins. Balthasar danced impatiently, obviously wanting to join in while Matthew adjusted his bit. Clicking Rakasa into a walk and then a trot, Diana guided her in circles around the paddock. Her motion was just as fluid as yesterday, and since the witch already had a day’s worth of experience riding Rakasa, Diana was used to how she moved. She was able to shift her torso so she could canter without her weight fully sitting on her.

Glancing over her shoulder at the paddock fence towards the direction of the open field, the witch bit her lip. She snuck a look over towards Matthew. He was about to clamber up onto Balthasar’s back and wasn’t facing her. Now would be the perfect time to hop the five-foot tall fence. She wanted to prove to Matthew that he didn’t need to worry about her when it came to jumping. While five feet was quite high, Diana had no doubt Rakasa would be able to clear it. Sensing her intentions, Rakasa increased her speed from a canter to a gallop as they turned the corner and faced the fence, yanking at the reins.

_Take it easy_ , Diana thought, as they rushed towards it. _Nice and relaxed._

Rakasa obeyed her command with a flick of her ears. Diana blinked in surprise. It was if the mare could understand her thoughts. Another magical power of some kind emerging, perhaps? Rider and horse cleared the fence with grace and minimal effort, and for a moment the witch felt weightless as they flew through the air. The jolt of landing caused her to jerk a little in the saddle, but other than that, their jump had been completely smooth.

She turned the mare around as she slowed to a walk, just in time to see Matthew sailing over the same fence on Balthasar. The Percheron’s sheer bulk meant that he was nowhere near as elegant as Rakasa, but his height allowed him to jump with ease. The vampire pulled the stallion up a couple of meters away from Diana and Rakasa, which was a good thing, considering the huge horse immediately reared up and tossed his head upon stopping.

“That was dangerous!” Matthew snapped at her, his voice dark and edged with anger. “You should have waited until I could watch to make sure you were safe!”

“You know I can ride excellently, Matthew, were you seriously worried I wouldn’t be able to jump a horse like Rakasa over a five-foot fence?” she asked incredulously.

“I thought we’d be starting with lower fences and logs, not fences like that,” he retorted. She frowned at him. The vampire wasn’t angry, exactly. He was concerned, and nervous. “Don’t do anything like that again or I’m not going to allow you to ride for the rest of our time here.”

“You can’t do that!” she argued.

His eyes blazed. “Yes, I can!”

“Stop treating me like some delicate flower!” Diana shouted. “I wanted to jump that fence to prove to you that you don’t need to constantly worry about me. I don’t appreciate being patronized, Matthew.” Her voice dropped to a disappointed murmur. “Right now you’re treating me like somebody who can't take care of herself, who you need to fuss over... like a damsel in distress, which I’m definitely _not_.”

An expression of conflicted pain passed over the vampire’s face. “I just want you to be safe.”

“And I want you to trust that I can keep myself safe,” she replied. “I might not know what I’m doing when it comes to magic, but I do when it comes to riding.”

Matthew clenched his jaw, but his shoulders sunk in defeat. “Fine,” he said tightly. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. That was wrong of me. You’re right, I should trust you to take care of yourself. I should have known you wouldn’t try and jump the fence without knowing that you absolutely could. I won’t stop you riding or stop you trying to jump other fences, but I reserve the right to worry about you. I want to protect you but I realize I am being a little…”

“Smothering?” she suggested with a raised eyebrow.

He looked embarrassed. “I was going to say ‘excessive’ but I guess that fits just as well.”

Diana walked Rakasa over so she was side by side with Balthasar, and take hold of and squeeze the vampire’s hand gently. “I don’t mind you being protective, Matthew. I do mind you being controlling. I know it’s instinctive for you to want to hold authority over everyone and everything so you can better understand the world, but women of the twenty-first century generally don’t like being lorded over. I’m not asking you to change your nature; I’m just asking you to reel it in slightly.”

Balthasar stomped his hooves with a snort, threatening to buck beneath his rider as he grew bored of their conversation and staying still. Matthew instantly shorted his reins and forced the stallion to back up in order to prevent the bucking with a vaguely annoyed look on his face. Rakasa, in comparison, was behaving perfectly, and she actually nickered and nipped at Balthasar’s mane in admonishment, which Diana laughed at.

“We should get going before Balthasar loses his patience,” the witch said, amused.

“Good idea.” Matthew turned and gave a sharp whistle. Two of his hunting hounds, who Diana had seen yesterday but hadn’t met yet, came tearing out from behind the stables, tails streaking behind them as they scrambled through the fence and sprinted towards them. “Fallon and Hector need a good run this morning. Do you mind if they come with us?”

The dogs didn’t need a run; Matthew wanted the dogs to accompany them so they could guard over them. “It’s okay. They won’t get under the horses’ feet?”

“They’re trained to avoid the hooves.” The vampire whistled again and both the dogs jumped to attention. “Fallon, with Diana,” he ordered, pointing at the witch. The hound ran over to her, while the other remained at Matthew’s side.

Soon the vampire and witch were thundering over the southern fields behind Sept-Tours, away from the village and towards a large forest looming in the distance. The dogs raced out in front of them, scouring the undergrowth joyfully. Although Rakasa was smaller than Balthasar and had a much shorter stride, the mare was able to keep pace with the Percheron quite well. They slowed once they reached the trail leading into the woods to a trot so that the horses could gain back some energy and discussed the fact that Em and Sarah had apparently taken to texting Matthew instead of Diana, as they thought the vampire was more likely to respond and give them updates - which was probably true, to be honest.

Matthew also explained how the cross-country course within the forest had come to be; he and his father had set it up for some healthy competition about a century ago, but over the last couple of decades upkeep of it had been taken up by a local French riding school, who now used the course to train young riders to jump. Since the forest was located in de Clermont land, however, they were free to use it whenever they wanted.

The forest opened up in front of them, the trees thinning out into a large, well-lit clearing. Within the clearing, spread out, there were around fifteen cross-country jumps made of logs, stumps and tree branches, all various kinds and sizes. There were even two water jumps and an elevation jump, where the horses would have to jump up onto a higher level. Diana could definitely have fun riding this course. Rakasa seemed just as excited, chomping at her bit and resisting the urge to leap from a trot into a gallop. The dogs immediately dashed off to inspect each one of the jumps, tails wagging.

“They’ve numbered all the fences,” Matthew told her. “Odd numbers are smaller jumps for beginners and intermediates, even numbers are for advanced jumpers. Take Rakasa around the odd number course first - I’d like to watch you jump.”

“You mean you want to make sure I’m not going to be thrown if I try and jump the larger fences,” Diana rolled her eyes.

“That too,” he said accommodatingly. 

Matthew tied up Balthasar to the second jump and sat on top of the logs while Diana walked Rakasa around the entire course to allow her to get a look at all the jumps. Once the mare had been able to examine them all thoroughly and she’d shortened her stirrups for jumping, Diana trotted her back to the start. There were eight jumps in the beginner and intermediate course overall and none of them looked particularly difficult.

Diana and Rakasa hopped over all of the jumps comfortably and completed the course within roughly five minutes. Rakasa pranced about triumphantly as they headed back towards Matthew, who appeared impressed. Halfway there, Rakasa started into a canter and leaped gleefully over fence number 4, a tall angled brush jump. Diana made no move to stop her, as she could sense how confident the horse was beneath her.

“No shimmer,” Matthew called. “And no change in your scent. You didn’t use magic.”

“I didn’t need to!” she shouted back. “The course was easy!”

“Try the harder one then!”

She turned Rakasa back towards the course and jumped her over all the even numbered fences. These ones were taller, with some at angles and close together, and included the water jumps and elevation jump. Diana was a great rider, but did have to use a couple of mental commands with some silent urgings to encourage the mare over a couple of the fences, and at one point, as Rakasa was leaping over the water jump, the witch felt a spark within her chest as she instinctively balanced herself. When they cantered back over to Matthew and Balthasar, the vampire was observing her with interest and admiration.

“You’re glowing,” he told her.

“I had to use magic once or twice to guide her to where I wanted her to go, and to make sure I didn’t fall out of the saddle,” she admitted. “But I actually think I might be getting the hang of this.”

“You certainly seem to have more control over your power than before,” Matthew agreed. “Why don’t you try the entire course now? I’ll time you.” He gave her a wicked grin. “We can make it a competition.”

Diana laughed. “Now you’re talking.”

She and Rakasa managed to finish the fifteen fence course in just over eight minutes.

“Impressive,” Matthew allowed. “My turn, I think.” He mounted Balthasar and rode him over to the first fence. “I timed from between your first jump and your last.”

Diana fished her phone out of her pocket and pulled up a stopwatch on the screen. “Got it.”

Balthasar’s size actually gave him a rather big disadvantage, as he wasn’t able to take the corners at much speed, and needed to make wider turns. Matthew was an expert rider and a truly incredible jumper; the way he held himself in the saddle showed how much experience he’d gained over the centuries on horseback. But even the vampire, with all his skills and riding aptitude, struggled to get the huge Percheron over the jumps at speed. They ended up completing the course in ten minutes.

“Looks like I’m the better jumper,” Diana teased him.

“Hey, it’s not exactly a fair contest,” Matthew argued, his competitive nature getting the better of him. “Balthasar’s a very different kind of horse compared to Rakasa. If I jumped her, it would be an entirely different story.”

“Then why don’t you?” The witch dismounted the mare, looping her reins over so she could lead her towards the vampire. “I’ll time you on Rakasa and then you can time me on Balthasar. Then it’s perfectly fair.”

“No, I don’t want you riding Balthasar,” Matthew immediately protested. “He’s a troublemaker.”

The witch smirked. “I bet he would behave better with me.”

“He would still be temperamental as hell.”

“But I could handle him.”

Matthew stared at her intensely for a moment before his competitive nature took over, causing him to finally sigh in defeat. He agreed reluctantly, “If you can prove to me that you can canter him safely and jump him over the smaller fences, then you can take him around the whole course.”

They swapped horses, the vampire having to give Diana a leg up so she could clamber onto the Percheron’s back while he vaulted onto Rakasa effortlessly. The witch had to adjust to being up so high on Balthasar’s back as she pulled in the stirrups.

When the huge stallion shifted beneath her, dancing on his hooves impatiently and tossing his head, she scolded him sternly, _Enough of that, mister. Calm down, please. No funny business._ Balthasar flicked his tail and mane in surprise, obviously not expecting to be ordered around mentally, but he quietened down obediently.

“You’re talking to him somehow.”

She turned to see Matthew watching her anxiously. “Yeah, it’s kind of strange. It’s as if they can hear my thoughts - or I’m projecting to them. Rakasa was responsive like this as well. I’m just telling Balthasar to behave.”

“And he’s listening to you?”

“He seems to be,” she mused, stroking over the horse’s broad neck. “It’s okay, Matthew. Take Rakasa for a ride. Balthasar and I will be fine.”

Matthew appeared uncertain, but clucked Rakasa into a canter and took on the course. They ended up completing it exactly ten seconds faster than Diana and the mare had, and the smug expression on the vampire’s face made the witch roll her eyes in fond exasperation.

Once Matthew and Rakasa were close by again, Diana dug her heels into Balthasar’s sides and began running him through his paces. The Percheron’s movements were much less smooth than Rakasa’s but he was solid beneath her, sure in his footing and confident in his stride. She could feel the horse’s muscles bunching in his hindquarters and neck as he cantered in a wide circle around the edge of the clearing. The stallion definitely had stamina and it wasn’t hard for Diana to imagine Matthew kitted up as some sort of medieval knight, riding into battle upon Balthasar’s back, which was what Percherons were originally bred for.

As they headed back towards Matthew and Rakasa, Diana was surprised to see Ysabeau atop her own horse, Fiddat, next to her son. Her sharp eyes were watching the witch closely while she conversed with the other vampire out of the corner of her mouth. Diana didn’t want to interrupt their discussion, and seeing as how Matthew hadn’t spoken up to tell her she couldn’t jump Balthasar, she swiveled the Percheron around and kicked him into a gallop as they approached the first jump.

She’d anticipated that jumping the huge stallion might be hard, but maneuvering the horse around the course was much more difficult than she thought it would be. Balthasar snapped at his bit and yanked at the reins, trying to go in the wrong direction more than once. He kept on jolting into a gallop when she only wanted him in a canter. It was only due to Diana mentally commanding him to _stop, listen to me_ and _no, not there, follow my lead please_ that she was successfully able to direct him over all the jumps. The whole time, she was aware of the freezing cold gazes of two vampires fixed on her.

Ysabeau and Fiddat were gone by the time Diana returned to Matthew, Balthasar plodding proudly beneath her. “My time?” she asked, breathless from the effort it took to wrangle the giant stallion.

“You were faster than me,” Matthew told her with a slight grumble. “By around ten seconds.”

“Ha!” she pointed at him. “That means we tied! We’re equally good jumpers.”

“You shimmered the entire time,” the vampire claimed. “You had the advantage of magic.”

“And you had the advantage of having several hundred years of riding experience,” Diana countered. “Let’s just call it even and be done with it.” She nodded towards the entrance trail. “Your mother was here?”

“She was riding nearby, heard us and thought she’d check in,” Matthew said with a shrug.

Diana doubted that, but if the vampire wasn’t telling her the truth now, he was even less likely to if she tried to press him for answers. “What was she talking to you about?”

Matthew’s lips twitched into a smile. “You, actually. She said she’s never seen Balthasar behave so well with anybody before. And she saw you riding Rakasa yesterday. She commented on your advanced riding ability.”

“She did?” the witch blinked. Ysabeau de Clermont had praised her riding skills?

“She said she’d like to ride with you one day,” Matthew informed her. “Providing you were all right with that, of course.”

“That… sounds great.”

The vampire chuckled under his breath, trotting Rakasa over to Balthasar’s side so he could lean across the small gap between them and kiss her forehead. “You can try and hide the panic in your voice, Diana, but remember that I can hear your heart.”

“You’re a walking, talking lie detector.”

“You don’t mind that, do you?” he murmured.

“Might be a pain to keep surprises secret, but at least you’ll keep me honest.”

She caught his arm in her hand as he pulled away, stopping his retreat so she could stretch up and plant a warm kiss on his lips. She hummed appreciatively when he twisted in his saddle so he could place his hand on the back of her neck and draw her in deeper. Matthew was purring when they broke apart, his eyes almost black.

Giving him a teasing grin, Diana kicked Balthasar into a trot, guiding him towards the path leading back towards Sept-Tours. “Come on. Competition’s over. Marthe is expecting us for lunch in the kitchen at noon, so we should head back.”

“I thought we’d be swapping back our horses,” Matthew said, quickly urging Rakasa into a canter so they could catch up. He whistled for the dogs, and Fallon and Hector rushed to follow them, darting ahead.

“Balthasar likes me now and he’s less likely to act up with me than you. You said he has a bad bucking habit, but he’s behaving well with me riding him. Maybe he just hates you.”

“Ha ha,” Matthew said flatly.

“Race you back!” Diana called with a laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed!
> 
> tumblr: @discoveriesofbishmont


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